Talbot Woods Day Nursery and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The nursery provides a welcoming environment for children from a diverse community. Most children arrive happily and are ready to play and learn. Those that are new and in need of support are offered plenty of cuddles and reassurance.

Children are eager to explore, whether they are playing with lentils and oats or finding out what happens when they stand under the rainwater draining off a gazebo. They make choices about their play and each room has a varied range of attractive resources for them to choose from. Staff take account of children's interests and learning style to get them involved in an interesting range of activiti...es.

Children are well behaved. Younger children learn to say please and thank you consistently and older children are confident, self-assured and can sort out minor disputes themselves. During the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, staff adapted procedures to ensure that parents were still kept well informed about their children.

For example, they used daily information sheets and held meetings online or outside to reduce the risk of infection. When the nursery was closed, the manager sent out videos of staff telling stories to maintain a link with the children. She also kept in touch with parents with ideas of how to support children's learning at home.

The home learning newsletter is still being sent out every month.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff know children well. They seek information from parents before children start which helps them to follow babies' care routines and establish what children can already do.

They make regular observations of children's progress and accurately assess what they need to do next to build on their learning. They share this information so that all staff can plan and provide a varied range of activities to support each child's individual development. Children make good progress from their starting points.

Staff enjoy working at the nursery and some have been in post for several years. They feel well supported and valued by the management team. Managers use creative ideas to motivate and involve staff, such as competitions for making imaginative story sacks.

There are awards for good performance and on 'Thank you Thursdays' comments about staff can be left by their colleagues.Older children have the opportunity to take part in a children's council. This enables them to contribute their views about the nursery.

They are proud of this role which helps to develop their confidence and gives them a voice.Staff have warm interactions with children and, generally, engage with them well to support and extend their learning. However, there is some inconsistency in this area and some staff do not seize every opportunity to enhance children's learning further.

Children take part in a varied range of interesting activities, which support all areas of their development. For example, older children take part in an activity based on a book that links colours with different feelings. This encourages them to talk about their feelings and emotions and they have added additional colours and feelings, such as purple for brave and orange for strong.

Staff provide good opportunities for children to find out about the natural world. For example, they grow plants in the allotment and take part in regular forest school activities in the local woods. There are plans in place to start a beach school to take advantage of the nursery's coastal location.

Staff do not organise group activities for older children as effectively as possible. This affects the children's ability to concentrate for sustained periods.Parents are enthusiastic about the care and support offered to their children, including those who have additional needs or who speak English as an additional language.

They praise the staff for identifying possible delays in children's development and the way in which they tailor activities to meet each child's needs. Staff work with parents to find out key words in their home language to help children settle and understand the daily routine.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a secure understanding of how to safeguard children. They complete regular training to keep their knowledge up to date and safeguarding is always on the agenda of individual and staff meetings. They are able to identify signs that a child may be at risk of harm and follow clear guidance when they have concerns.

Staff ensure that children play in a safe environment and older children are involved in making risk assessments, which helps them to learn about staying safe. Children also learn about safety through activities with Candyfloss, the nursery's health and safety superhero.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop the consistency of staff's engagement with children and their ability to extend each child's learning fully to ensure they make the best possible progress review the organisation of group activities for older children to provide more support for them to concentrate and focus on what they are doing.